Over the years, cables and wires of various types and applications have been stored or managed using spools and reels of various designs. The criticality of the design is driven by the need and solving particular problems unique to that need. The basic goal is to wind up unneeded cable onto, or unwind needed cable from, a spool or some other cylindrical device while still keeping the cable's functionality. The end result is retained quality of the cable, kink and tangle free, and readily moved or stored.
Known cable reels have various designs. One type has a cable that is contiguous throughout the device from end to end. It simultaneously connects to the two communicating devices and winds up on a reel placed in the middle. The two ends extend and retract at the same time. This design concept keeps a large percentage of the cable available for utilization by the user. A downside of this reel design is the presence of a reel in the middle of the length of cable.
A second design also includes a single, contiguous cable, but it wraps and unwraps in a single housing that remains stationary and the useable cable extends out of only one side. This is accomplished by utilizing two spools and requires a significant amount of cable retained in the housing that wraps up on a second reel while a lesser amount of the useable cable unwraps for use. This design is limiting for applications where length of cable affects the integrity of the signal carried by the cable. Also, the second spool adds size and complexity to the device.
In the two previous designs, connectivity is the responsibility of the cable manufacturer. Other devices tackle the problem of reeling cables that are not contiguous and thus must be connected and disconnected using a proprietary mechanism. There are two basic mechanisms for accomplishing this task. The first involves a locking device that uses a lever and latch system that is manually activated. The lever that is manually activated contains contacts that are separated and reconnected when retraction or extension is desired. While variations of this device can be developed for multiple applications, the design does not lend itself to use in applications where high quality, very precise and high integrity connections are mandatory. Furthermore, manual manipulation limits its application.
Yet another known design involves axial movement of the spool to accomplish the connect/disconnect function prior to spool rotation. One example of this design uses manual manipulation to facilitate the axial movement and uses its own, internally housed contacts. This design has limited scalability, introduces possible signal errors due to the poor quality of the connection and the same application constraints previously mentioned with a manually manipulated device.
The second design using axial movement for accomplishing the connect/disconnect function is only using that movement to provide connect/disconnect forces between standard connectors. This is a purpose built device working in the telecommunications industry using optical cabling. This design is large and cumbersome for most applications.
Lastly, another solution uses a hybrid means of continuity where the cable is not contiguous, but it maintains a constant connection during spool movement through the use of brushes or brush-like contacts. This type of devices is typically used where signal quality or connectivity is not critical. Examples of these include power cables in industrial shops.
Accordingly, there is needed a compact, reliable, high fidelity cable reel.